Utility profits: how much is too much?

Written by Brandon Presley
Friday, 17 August 2012 00:00

How much is too much?My main responsibility as a member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission is to ensure that the people and businesses of our state have safe, reliable utility service at the lowest reasonable cost and that the public interest receives firm protection by the PSC.The duty to the public interest requires me to balance the revenue needs of utility companies to operate with the rates customers in our state pay for utility service. At times, the system of utility regulation gets out of balance with the scales tilting in the favor of the utilities to the detriment of the customers. We, at the PSC, have been working diligently to balance our regulatory environment over the past few years.